


Murder on the Voralberg Train

by FaustianDevil



Category: Syberia
Genre: Death, F/M, Gen, Human AU, Murder, Murder Mystery, Orphan AU, Takes place in an AU where the Voralberg automaton bros are humans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-04-25 11:25:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14377638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaustianDevil/pseuds/FaustianDevil
Summary: Hans Voralberg's mechanical train gets stuck in the snow during its long voyage to Syberia and to make things worse a horrible murder happens at the same time.Kate and Oscar work as detectives to uncover the mystery.PS. Any similarities to another murder mystery that happened on a train is pure coincidence. ...Okay, it is based on Murder on the Orient Express, you caught me.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rosy-under-your-bed over at Tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Rosy-under-your-bed+over+at+Tumblr).



> Hey, so it's April 20th~!! Besides dank weed day Syberia 3 came out a year ago (and also from the first Syb game we know Kate ditches everything to join Hans on his journey on this day as well), so happy Syb Anniversary~!!
> 
> It's hard to believe it has already been a year and I wanted to do something for this nice cozy fandom that I keep bothering with my dumb memes as a thank you, and an even bigger thank you to Rosy who was kind enough to always beta-read my stories and listen to my ramblings of Jamelena and other dumb headcanons I happened to came up with. ♥
> 
> For now I shall only post the first chapter, the other chapters will happen... every Friday or so?
> 
> Also the Orphan AU belongs to Rosy, I'm just taking it for a nice little joy ride for the time being.

Kate Walker stared out of the window of the mechanical train and onto the snowy station of Romansbourg, or the last Bastion of Civilization as Colonel Emeliov has cleverly put it, which he wasn’t too wrong about, because after this there was nothing, but an endless white awaiting her and the rest of the passengers of the Voralberg Train. The woman sighed loudly and closed her eyes as she thought back on how she even ended up on this strange train and even stranger journey to begin with. She came to Valedilene, a small town hidden away in the French Alps, to wrap up the sale of the Voralberg Factory. Accompanying her was her fiancé who insisted on going with her, and at the time she didn’t mind, they had a few misunderstandings the previous weeks and a change of phase and scenery might have been the solution, but before they even realized what was going on they were on their way to find the mystery heir to the Factory, Hans Voralberg, who was hiding away somewhere in Russia, searching for mammoths and Syberia. In the end they managed to find him, he even signed the papers, which would have meant the end of all that hassle that came with this impromptu voyage, yet Kate couldn’t bring herself to go back to New York. After all the wonders she had seen and the people she had met, she just couldn’t go back anymore. This had also resulted in quite the quarrel with her fiancé, Dan, who would have loved nothing more, but to leave from the very beginning they set foot on the strange mechanical train. Even now he couldn’t do anything better than to complain, but for some reason he remained. Presumably because he had no idea how he could go back without Kate by his side, and there is nothing more terrifying on this world than the wrath of a mother-in-law’s, and thus he stayed. Kate opened her eyes again, her vision still blurred from her haphazard memories and turned her gaze from the window, and as she did she noticed Professor Pons still sitting across from her, still going on about the mysterious land the train was headed to. Thankfully he didn’t seem to notice that she wasn’t paying any attention to his lecture, he was probably used to it from all the disinterested and apathetic students at the Barrockstadt University. She smiled gently at him and excused herself from the already one-sided conversation with needing some fresh air as an excuse and the Professor nodded his head in understanding. She took her jacket and went outside and was immediately struck by the chilly Northern winds.

\- The weather is quite harsh around here, it’s best to stay inside, Miss, unless you wish to catch a cold.  
\- No need to fear for me, Colonel.  
\- Captain, Miss.

Captain Malatesta corrected the woman and with that straightened his posture even more and raised his nose high up to the sky and Kate couldn’t help herself and let out a small giggle at the sight.

\- Say, Captain, what are you doing outside yourself?  
\- Truth be told, Miss, I can’t say I trust the people around here, so I decided to keep watch and guard the train, this way no suspicious individual could get on.  
\- That’s very admirable of you, Captain.  
\- Thank you, Miss, nothing escapes my watchful eyes!

The woman rolled her eyes and thankfully the good Captain didn’t see it as he raised his nose high up again. After some time Kate left the Captain’s side and walked over to the front of the train, where she saw the engineer, Oscar talking with the former opera diva, Madame Romanski’s butler. The butler, whose name was James, was quite the mystery himself, he refused to interact with nearly all passengers of the mechanical train safe for his mistress, and for some odd reason the engineer. Even when Kate was still searching for Hans he lied to her and tried to mislead her and was ever so rude, so she failed to understand how Madame Romanski even managed to tolerate him or how someone as nice as Oscar could be on such good terms with a person like him. She couldn’t even fathom how he was even let on the train to begin with, but after some thinking she did realize that his help was much needed in Komkolzgrad and he was also Madame Romanski’s nurse, so maybe that’s why, but that still didn’t change the fact that Kate didn’t trust the man. As soon as James noticed the woman approaching he threw away his cigarette and excused himself from the engineer’s side and as he passed her by he pulled his hat further down to hide his face and only murmured a greeting under his thin mustache to the woman. Kate walked over to Oscar and crossed her arms.

\- What did he want from you?  
\- Nothing, Kate Walker, we were just talking. … You still don’t trust him?  
\- Not one bit.  
\- He’s really not that bad … once you get to know him … you should really give him a chance …

The woman didn’t seem to want to change her stance on how she felt about Madame Romanski’s butler any time soon, so Oscar just sighed in defeat and decided to change the subject.

\- The train is nearly ready to leave Romansbourg, Kate Walker, truth be told I can’t say I will be missing this town, the whole place is lugubrious and I don’t like these houses underneath the rails either, they clearly spell T.R.O.U.B.L.E. to me.  
\- I feel like you’re being overly dramatic about it, but you might be relieved to hear that Captain Malatesta is keeping watch and nothing seems to escape him.  
\- Good to hear that someone shares my concerns.  
\- I’m also here, Oscar.  
\- And I appreciate that, Kate Walker.

The woman smiled at his comment, but that soon faded as she looked up ahead of what will await them.

\- Oscar, do you think we’ll get to Syberia?  
\- I’m afraid I don’t have a clear answer for that, Kate Walker.  
\- I see … let me rephrase it then … Is the train in a fit state to carry on with the journey?  
\- What are you suggesting, Kate Walker? I take the greatest care of it!  
\- I know … I know … just with this rude climate …

Oscar averted her gaze and looked down at his feet and contemplated what to answer. While the train was indeed designed to resist harsh conditions, will it be truly enough. No one has made it further than the last Bastion of Civilization, thus no one knew what was waiting for them up ahead, and that is enough of a cause for concern, but such thoughts are best to be ignored for now and best to believe in Hans Voralberg’s amazing inventions, so he decided to reassure the woman and it seemed to work.

\- So when are we leaving, Oscar?  
\- As soon as the train is wound up.  
\- … … … You weren’t thinking by any chance of doing that yourself?

Again he averted her eyes, but now for a completely different reason and with a sigh Kate gave in and did the job herself while Oscar just stayed put, and as soon as she was done she walked over to him again, crossed her arms as she did earlier and with a smug smile reported that the job was done, no thanks to him.

\- There, the train is wound. Can we leave now?  
\- As soon as everyone is gathered in the passenger cars, with pleasure!

Kate nodded her head and started to walk back to the passenger cars and was ready to get inside, when Captain Malatesta stopped her and told her that Mr. Foster was looking for her, and he looked ever so upset when he told him that she was with the engineer. The woman sighed and prepared herself for the upcoming fight that was sure to come as soon as she stepped inside.


	2. The Murder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me as I turn on and off the lights while the Murdoch Mysteries theme plays in the back chanting "It's murder time!".
> 
> Finally things are starting to get bloody and intresting or bloody interesting as some folks say. Sadly it's a very short chapter, but hope y'all will enjoy it.
> 
> Next chapter will be coming next Friday.

Kate Walker lied on her back on the comfy single bed and stared up at the ceiling of the sleeping car, and as she did she kept replaying the argument she had with Dan from earlier in her head, and every time she did, it just made her feel worse. She tried desperately to make their relationship work, but she had to realize, that she was only clinging to an image of her fiancé that only existed as a fond memory of the person she thought he once was, and now that he showed her his true colors that image has since soon began to fade. It’s best let memories be just that, memories, and concentrate on the now, and that means breaking away from an unhappy relationship. After she finally made her decision, she heard a knock, and her fiancé’s voice on the other side of the door. She sighed and pulled the covers over her head, not wanting to hear his half-hearted apologies that might still convince her to give in, and pretend that everything is fine, until he snaps and starts a fight again in one of his jealous rages, only to repeat the cycle over and over again. She tried her best to block out the noise as best as she could, and soon again his apologies turned to threats, and anger seemed to swallow him completely. By the time the clock hit midnight, Dan gave up and returned to his own room, and Kate was finally able to breathe. She rolled over to her side and tried her best to sleep now that he was finally gone, and not banging on her door, calling her names, but the gears in her head were constantly in motion, and working on what she’ll tell him in the morning. In the end she gave up, her haphazard thoughts were too much to bear and carried more noise than the train ever did, and she finally got out from the bed, deciding to stretch her legs while she is at it. She looked over at the clock next to the nightstand, and was hit with the horrible realization that three hours had already passed without her getting a wink of sleep. She ran a hand through her messy hair and sighed. After she got dressed, she slowly opened the door and looked around to make sure that Dan had indeed gave up and retired to his room, and as soon as she made doubly sure she stepped outside to the hall of the sleeping car. Immediately the sound of loud snoring hit her ears and she couldn’t help, but be jealous of whoever it was. She went down the dark hall that was only illuminated by a light that came from Madame Romanski’s room, from which soft music and the low murmurs of a conversation could be heard. Kate wondered for a minute what could be going on in there before continuing on and making her way towards the dining car, which was nearly engulfed in darkness, safe for the dim light coming from the windows. At one of the booths sat a figure that stared out into the endless blinding white of the Russian landscape, and as Kate got closer, the mystery person turned out to be none other than Hans. The woman walked over to the old man and started to question him why he was still awake at this ungodly hour, he slowly moved his head towards her direction and after a good minute replied.

\- The train is starting to slow down, Kate Walker.

Before Kate could respond he turned his attention back to the window. At that she followed his gaze as well and looked outside, and she also had to agree that the train was indeed moving slower than it did before.

\- I … I’ll go ask Oscar about it.

Kate Walker walked away from the old inventor and made her way towards the engine room, and by the time she got there the train had completely stopped moving despite how much a frantic Oscar pleaded and begged it for to move and continue on its way to Syberia, but no use, not even this mechanical wonder could be a match against the elements and the snow, and what he feared the most had just happened. It took everything in Kate to pull the engineer away from the control panel before he did any more damage to it and himself in his panicked state, and somehow she managed to calm him down a bit, but he was still in a terrible state and kept blaming himself for the train getting stuck in the snow. Kate watched him as he kept pulling at his hair, not knowing what else to tell him in order to calm him. Only when she noticed the tears rolling down his cheeks did she finally decide. She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, patting his back as he kept shaking and apologizing. After a while Oscar’s sobs had somewhat faded, and the only thing filling up the engine room was the noise of the harsh winds that could be heard from outside now that the train’s mechanism didn’t block it from entering. She pulled away and wanted to ask if he was any better now, when the quiet moment between them was broken by the bloodcurdling scream of the former opera diva. Kate quickly rushed back to the dining car, with Oscar following her after he gathered himself from the sudden shock of the noise, and when they arrived they were both greeted with a horrible sight.


	3. Kate the Detective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is great, because Dan gets punched~

The dining car since her last time there was now completely illuminated and a smaller crowd had formed around the now dead inventor, Hans Voralberg. He was lying face down on the floor, his neck sliced open and a smaller puddle of blood had formed underneath him, next to him lied what presumably was the murder weapon, a knife. Oscar as soon as he saw the corpse, covered his mouth, turned back around on his heels and left the dining car, to emit out whatever was in his insides. Madame Romanski after screaming her lungs out at the sight of her now dead former sweetheart has since passed out. James took her over to one of the nearest booths, and lightly patted her face in order to wake his mistress, but with little to no success. Captain Malatesta took off his hat and made a cross around his heart, as Professor Pons bent down to inspect the corpse more carefully. Kate walked closer to the two men, but as soon as she stepped forward her boots made contact with the blood on the floor and life seemed to drain from her face, and decided it was for the best to just sit down. Professor Pons stood up and turned over to the Captain and was ready to say something to him when Dan entered the dining car questioning what the commotion was about.

\- What’s going on? What’s with all the screaming? Why isn’t the train moving? Did we already arrive?

Captain Malatesta stepped over to him and straightened his posture as he informed him.

\- I’m afraid not, Mr. Foster. There has been a murder.  
\- What? Who? Is Kate alright?  
\- Miss Walker is fine. The victim was Hans Voralberg.

Dan didn’t wait around for too long and pushed the Captain to the side, and started acting as the busybody he always was, trying to take charge of the situation. He immediately walked over to the body and tried to inspect it as the Professor did earlier, but with less competence and knowledge, which was made clear to everyone when he grabbed the knife with his bare hands. Both the Captain and the Professor who witnessed the act turned completely white. Captain Malatesta’s previous polite behavior disappeared completely as he grabbed Mr. Foster by the hand and dragged him away from the victim.

\- What do you think you’re doing, you idiot? You have just damaged evidence! Crucial evidence at that!

Dan put up his hand and dropped the knife as he furiously apologized.

\- I … I’m t-terribly sorry. I … I was just t-trying to help.  
\- If this is how you intend to do so then best just stay put and out of the way!

After that the Captain said a series of colorful curses in various languages to Mr. Foster, insulting not only his intellect, but his home country as well, while he still made stuttered apologies at the Captain. With each insult a vein started to appear on the Captain’s neck and his face changed from pale to a dark shade of red, Professor Pons saw this as a good of a sign as any to drag him away from the American, whose sheer presence irritated his friend now, and as he dragged him away to get some space between the two, Mr. Foster spoke up again.

\- I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up, Captain. I mean even without the evidence it’s clear who the murder is.  
\- And just who do you suspect, Schwein?  
\- While him of course!

The American pointed at James, who since the fight between the Captain and Mr. Foster has been attentively watching the scene instead of trying to wake his mistress. The accusation did catch him off guard and he blinked a few times in surprise, before muttering a “Pardon?” under his thin mustache at the American. Professor Pons also inquired as to why was Dan so eager to accuse the butler of committing the murder.

\- Well … he clearly hated him … isn’t that enough of a reason?  
\- That’s quite a baseless accusation, Mr. Foster.

James stood up, straightened out his uniform, and walked over to Dan and looked him in the eye, which made the American jump back.

\- Safe for Madame, I don’t particularly enjoy the company of anyone else on this train. Besides if anyone here is suspicious I think it would be you, Mr. Foster.  
\- Me? But why me?  
\- Well one would think everyone knows by now not to touch the murder weapon with their bare hands, because in that case it would destroy crucial evidence like fingerprints, but I guess I just expected a lot from you, Mr. Foster … I mean I can’t expect someone like you to have common sense after all.

At that all the blood rushed to the American’s face and he grabbed James by the collar, but the butler with a swift movement of his hands got out of his grip and pushed him over instead, making him land near the corpse, which didn’t seem to halt the fight between the two of them. Only when Kate yelled “Enough!” and with the help of Captain Malatesta was the fight broken up between the butler and the American.

\- Enough is enough! We need to find the murderer and it won’t happen if everyone is at each other’s throats!

Both of them reluctantly agreed as Kate took charge of the situation.

\- And how do you plan to find the murderer, Miss?  
\- Well for starters it wouldn’t be bad to know the time of death and looking for some clues.

Again as Professor Pons was about to say something Dan interrupted him again.

\- Katie, what are you doing? You’re not a detective.  
\- And neither are you, but at least I don’t start fights or mess up crime scenes!

That sentence came out more aggressive then she originally intended, but it had the proper effect and silenced Dan from further interference. After the American finally had his mouth shut Professor Pons finally got his opportunity to say what he wanted to for a while now.

\- Now as I was about to say, before I was rudely interrupted …

He glared over at Dan’s direction and made sure he wasn’t about to interrupt him again, and when he was sure of it he continued on.

\- Even if my specialty are fossils I presume the time of death would’ve been just …

He looked at his watch.

\- About an hour or so from now. I sadly can’t give an exact time when the murder took place though.  
\- That is still better than nothing, Professor. Have you checked the body for any other clues?  
\- No … I can’t say I have …  
\- It’s alright, I guess I’ll just do it.  
\- Excuse me, Miss!

Captain Malatesta stepped forward and as always straightened his posture and raised his nose high whenever he tried to appear official.

\- Just what exactly do you think you are doing?  
\- … Investigating?  
\- Yet, I am the only authority figure on this train, it should be my job to conduct the investigation.  
\- I would object to that, my dear friend.  
\- And why so, Professor?  
\- It’s made clear from which way the body fell. Hans is facing towards the door that leads towards the engine room. From this we can deduct that the killer was standing behind him, when he cut his throat. When we got here the body was still warm, so the actual murder only took place a few minutes before we arrived.  
\- I still don’t seem to understand, Professor.  
\- Oh, but it’s quite simple. I noticed when Miss Walker arrived to the scene, she came from the engine room along with Oscar. For her to come from that way means that she had to go outside and with what heavy snow is falling and with how her boots and jacket were covered means she would have left wet footprints around, which of course we didn’t find.  
\- Yes, we didn’t …  
\- Which means the murderer could have only came from the passenger cars.  
\- Bravo, Professor! You’re really good at this! You should be the one doing the investigation!

The small old man twirled his mustache and smiled at the compliment.

\- I’m just trying my best to put the puzzle pieces together, Miss. Sadly I also count as a suspect I’m afraid.

Captain Malatesta was still not completely convinced by Professor Pons’ theories.

\- But if the murder took place only a few minutes before we arrived, where was the murderer then? Where did they disappear off to?  
\- I’m not sure …  
\- If I would be in the murderers place and would hear approaching footsteps I would try to run away and the closest door was the one leading towards the engine room.

Professor Pons twirled his mustache again.

\- I see … you’re suspecting Miss Walker …  
\- What? Captain, you can’t be serious! I …  
\- No, need to worry, my dear child. I can assure you, my dear friend, that Miss Walker has nothing to do with the murder. If the murderer would have ran that way and would have opened the door we would have noticed snow around it or at the very least melted snow and the rug would be soaked wet, but we didn’t, did we?  
\- We didn’t indeed … so that only means …  
\- That the murderer had enough time, and ran back to the passenger cars and arrived with everyone, or they could have hidden away here, and while we were busy being in shock and inspecting the corpse, they could have just as easily came out of their hiding place and joined us with again feigning ignorance about the whole thing.  
\- Marvelously done, Professor!  
\- Again, I’m just trying to figure out everything as best as I could. But I leave everything to you now, Miss. You are the only one above all suspicion.  
\- And what about, Oscar? We were both in the engine room when it happened.  
\- Oh, yes … I almost forgot about our dear engineer … I guess that also means …  
\- Just what were you two doing in the engine room anyway?

Dan stepped closer to the group as soon he heard his fiancée was alone in a room with another man and his jealous side seemed to take the best of him again.

\- It’s none of your business, Dan, but if you really want to know I wanted to ask him why the train was slowing down.  
\- And why was it slowing down?

Kate hesitated for a minute before answering.

\- … Because we are snowed in.


	4. Inspecting the Body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to get my shit together, because I'm running out of chapters to post.  
> Still have a few more, so next update will be on Friday again for sure.

While everyone was still stomaching the news that they were stuck in the middle of the frozen plains of nowhere together with a murderer, Kate took the opportunity to find Oscar. It didn’t take her long to find the engineer curled up on the floor of the engine room mourning the now late Hans Voralberg. Kate waited until he noticed she was there and only approached him after, trying her best to convince him to come back to the dining car with her and help her find the murderer. Of course this was easier said than done. Poor Oscar was in a terrible state of grief and shock and could hardly even comprehend what the woman in front of him was even asking of him. Kate tried asking him again when she noticed her words didn’t seem to reach him, but now much slower and with more compassion, but again his only response was to curl up further into a ball. Kate sat down next to him and patted his back as he sobbed.

\- I know this is hard for you, Oscar, but I need you now more than ever. I can’t catch the murderer on my own. Will you please help me?

No response.

\- Oscar, there is always a chance that the murderer might strike again. You don’t want that to happen now do you?

He lifted his head slowly, and even with the goggles covering his eyes Kate could tell they were red from the stinging hot tears that would not stop, but at the very least she finally got his attention and a slight nod as an answer now.

\- Then please come with me back to the dining car.  
Even at the mention of the place where the body was made him sick, and to go back there was out of the question, yet Kate pressed on further, as he covered his mouth and tried to choke back his sobs and something else.

\- You know this train like the back of your hand. If anyone would notice something off about the crime scene, it would be you. Please, Oscar, I need your help.

He was shaking and breathing heavily now, still keeping a hand close to his mouth as he listened to her.

\- You don’t have to investigate the body, I’ll do that myself, I only want you to look around to see if you can find anything that’s even the slightest bit off and ...

Oscar didn’t wait for Kate Walker to continue on and got up from the floor, rushed over to the door of the engine car, swung it open and leaned outside to emit out whatever was still left in his stomach. As Kate watched him she decided to leave him be, and not to pressure him any further, and to not cause him anymore suffering, and to continue the investigation alone. As she was about to pass him by and give him one last sorrowful look came a barely audible whisper from the engineer.

\- What did you say, Oscar?  
\- I … I’ll help.  
\- Are you sure?

He couldn’t muster out a yes just another slow nod, but that was enough for the woman who thanked him with a hug. The mourning and grief, along with the harsh winds and snow had drained him completely and he had to lean against her for support as they entered the dining car again. Upon coming across with the corpse that was now covered with a sheet Oscar felt like throwing up again and Kate quickly sat him down in one of the booths. Professor Pons and strangely enough James were there to help Kate in sitting down the engineer and taking care of him from then on. Kate thanked them both, but gave a wary look to the butler as she moved away from them to finally inspect the corpse. Captain Malatesta was standing beside it making sure no one tampered with the scene any further, but everyone did agree it was best to cover Hans’ body out of respect. The Captain only moved out of the way when Kate approached the body and knelt down before it, cautiously moving the sheet out of the way and finally starting her investigation. At first glance she could only tell the obvious, that Hans died from bleeding out from his neck being sliced open with a knife, and that the knife was one from the kitchen, and because of Dan’s interference no further clues could be made from it. Kate then decided to check Hans’ pockets for maybe further evidence, but no luck there either, only a few tools and mechanical parts that were presumably for a new invention of his. As she was rummaging through his clothes she noticed something under the body and gently lifted it to notice a cell phone lying underneath. Kate picked it up, but before she could even inspect it Dan came up to her and snatched it away from her.

\- Dan, what are you even doing now? Didn’t we all agree that I’m the one doing the investigation?  
\- We did, but this is mine!  
\- What?

After taking another glance at the cell phone Kate did indeed recognize the phone as Dan’s, but the question still remained as to how it got under the corpse.

\- Is it not obvious? It fell out of my pocket when that skeevy asshole attacked me!

Of course the insults could be heard throughout the dining car and the accused party wasn’t someone who would just sit around and be belittled like that and quickly retorted.

\- Excuse me, but I remember it the other way around!  
\- Are you perhaps calling me a liar?  
\- Well you’re not exactly the epitome of honesty, Mr. Foster!  
\- Neither are you! You have the face of a criminal!

James was already on his feet ready to punch the American again when Oscar tugged on his suit jacket for him to sit back down again and he reluctantly did so. Thankfully the fight wouldn’t have lasted long, because as soon as Dan noticed the butler rising from his seat he quickly disappeared pocketing his phone again, still sore from the last punches he received from him earlier. Captain Malatesta asked if he should retrieve the device from him, but Kate decided to let him be for now and to believe Dan’s story for the time being. She went back to check upon Oscar, who was still sitting at the booth where she had left him along with James who decided to keep him company after the Professor left, but not before making sure that the engineer was alright. As Kate approached the two James got up from his seat and let her take it instead. Before she sat down Kate asked why he was so caring towards Oscar and only got a snarky reply of “Workers solidarity.” from him.

\- He’s a real pain.  
\- Yes.  
\- Aren’t you two friends?  
\- … It’s more of workers solidarity.

Kate was not amused by his reply, but Oscar had a small smile on his face from the not so clever joke he made.

\- I see you are feeling better.  
\- S-somewhat. … Have you found anything, Kate Walker?  
\- No, nothing for now. Have you noticed anything?  
\- I can’t say I have … I can’t say I even tried …

He was still a sickly pale and it was obvious the sight of the body was making him sick even when covered, but he was there and trying and that was more than enough for Kate and as reassurance she patted his shoulder.

\- What are we going to do now, Kate Walker?  
\- I’m not sure … we could start questioning everyone …  
\- Who should we start with?

Kate already had a suspect in mind from recent happenings, but didn’t wish to arouse suspicion for the time being, so the couple had decided to go in the order of the rooms.


	5. Questioning the Professor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some one on one fights... I mean questionings.
> 
> Also I have one finished chapter left... I really need to get my shit together.

\- Whose room is the first one?

Oscar was silent for a long minute before replying.

\- Mr. Voralberg’s.  
\- Oh … well we can’t really question him … Whose room is the one next to his?  
\- That would be Professor Pons’.  
\- Then we’ll start with him.

Kate called the Professor over and the old man walked over to the couple, and took the seat across from them in the booth.

\- Is the investigation going well, Miss Walker?  
\- Can’t really say it’s going anywhere right now …  
\- Don’t lose courage, if anyone I’m sure you can figure out who did it.  
\- Thank you, Professor.

Kate also thanked his kind words of encouragement with a smile before they got back to the matter at hand.

\- So how can I be of assistance?  
\- We’d like to ask a few questions, if that’s alright with you ...  
\- Oh, of course! What would you like to know, my dear child?  
\- First let’s start with when was the last time you saw Hans … alive.  
\- That would be last night.  
\- Around what time?

The Professor twirled his fingers around his mustache as he tried to remember.

\- Oh … I think it was a little after midnight. … Yes, yes, I remember that Captain Malatesta left right before midnight and I checked my watch right after he did. I did decide to stay and talk with Hans for a little longer, but sadly I’m no youngster anymore and had to retire soon after.  
Oscar chimed into the conversation now that he was feeling somewhat better.  
\- And what about Mr. Voralberg? Did he stay behind?

The Professor turned his attention towards the engineer and replied to his questions.

\- Yes, he had one of those strokes of genius again that made him restless. I did hear him come into his room, but left soon after.  
\- Was this normal for him?  
\- Oh, yes, he hardly ever slept and I often heard him working on some sort of machine through the thin walls. He also came and went throughout most nights. At first it was a bit nerve wrecking hearing the door creaking as it is opened and closed so often at ungodly hours, but one gets used to it.

Kate pondered on the Professor’s answers for a while before she returned to questioning him again.

\- Did you see anyone in the hallway after you left the dining car?  
\- Oh, I … I can’t say I have …  
\- After you returned to your room what did you do Professor?  
\- I went to bed immediately. It was already sometime after midnight after all.

Professor Pons smiled at her and Kate expected as much as an answer.

\- You mentioned that you could hear Hans when he entered his room, right?  
\- That is correct.  
\- Did you hear him go into his room last night?  
\- Yes, but I sadly don’t know at what time it had happened, but I did hear him leave soon after.  
\- Did you leave your room to question him about it?

The Professor seemed to hesitate in giving an answer, but neither Kate, nor Oscar seemed to take note of it.

\- No … as I said earlier one gets used to it … I stayed in bed right until I heard Madame Romanski’s scream.  
\- So you only left your room after the corpse was discovered?  
\- Yes.  
\- At what time did you arrive at the scene?  
\- Around the same time as everyone else. I immediately went and checked the body and that was around four in the morning.  
\- I see … thank you for your help, Professor.

Before he left Kate asked him to sit separately from the others and not talk to anyone else until they finished questioning everyone, the Professor seemed a bit surprised at her request, but did as he was told. After he left Kate turned over to Oscar.

\- What do you think?  
\- I don’t think it could’ve been Professor Pons.  
\- I don’t think it was him either … Let’s continue on.


	6. Questioning the Butler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is great, because James is in it~

\- Who’s next, Oscar?  
\- I don’t think you will like my answer, Kate Walker.  
\- Why so?

Oscar instead of replying properly just pointed over at James’ direction, and immediately a frown started to appear on Kate’s face as soon as she saw the butler.

\- Uggh … him … let’s get this over with … and fast.

Oscar called over the butler who reluctantly left his now woken mistress’ side and made his way over to the couple, but not before kissing her hand goodbye, even if he only had to leave her for a short period of time. As soon as he got there an annoying smirk was sitting under his thin mustache as he greeted the two.

\- Holmes, Watson, have you found the murderer yet?

Kate turned over to Oscar and gave voice to her displeasure right after James sat down across from them.

\- I’m already regretting this.  
\- Would you like me to question him alone?  
\- No, I feel you would go too easy on him.  
\- Yes, Poirot you’re too soft.  
\- … Poirot? I thought I was Watson.  
\- I changed my mind. You have the mustache for it after all, just not the little grey cells.

His smart comment only rewarded him with a kick in the leg from the engineer.

\- Ow! You kicked me!  
\- No, I didn’t!  
\- Yes, you did!

Kate ended their childish fight with inquiring about as to what happened to their “workers solidarity” and both the engineer and the butler went silent.

\- Why do I get the feeling that you two have known each other before … Have you two met before we even arrived at Aralbad?

The two answered in unison, but gave completely different answers, and when they realized their blunder they replied again in unison, but now giving the answer the other did before, and again contradicting each other. The third time they tried to answer her James leaned over the table and covered Oscar’s mouth before he could say anything and just answered Miss Walker’s question himself with a “Maybe.”, which didn’t seem to make her any less annoyed and any less suspicious about the two men. In the end she did decide to change the subject back to the investigation, but also forbade Oscar from taking part in it in any way.

\- Alright, James, when was the last time you saw Mr. Voralberg?  
\- I presume you mean when he was still well and alive, it was last night.  
\- At what time?  
\- Around eight. I was serving Madame’s dinner at the time. She didn’t eat much and wasn’t feeling well, so I escorted her back to her room right after she was finished.  
\- What did you do after?

James didn’t answer right away, but when he did he did so with a slight smirk that was sitting underneath his thin mustache.

\- I retired to my own room.  
\- And after that did you leave your room at any time during the night?  
\- No. I was sound asleep.

Kate raised an eyebrow at him, she was clearly suspicious about the butler.

\- James, who has access to Madame Romanski’s room?

That question seemed to catch the butler off guard and his smug smile disappeared as he answered her.

\- Only Madame and of course I.  
\- Does your Madame allow visitors during the night?  
\- Miss Walker, what are you implying …  
\- I’m the one asking the questions, you only answer.

A slight tint of red started to color his face as he replied “Of course not!” and slightly louder than he wished to, which made him turn even a darker shade now.

\- I’m only asking this, because when I left my room I heard music and the sounds of conversation coming from your mistress’ room. From your answers I can only assume it was you with her, but you also said you didn’t leave your room either. What’s the truth, James?  
\- Oh … I …

James glanced nervously over at Oscar before returning his gaze to Kate’s direction.

\- W-what time was that?  
\- I’m still the one asking the questions, James, but if you really wish to know around three in the morning.

The butler repeated the time a few times as he tried to think back.

\- Oh, right, of course … I … I nearly forgot … I did leave my room.  
\- And why so?  
\- I noticed that the train was starting to slow down and thought that we were about to arrive, so naturally I got dressed and went over to Madame to wake her. After I helped her get dressed we left for the dining car … and …  
\- And?  
\- I think you can guess what we saw, Miss Walker.  
\- So Madame Romanski and you found the corpse first?

James nodded his head.

\- What did you do after?  
\- I presume you remember, Miss, that Madame passed out right after seeing Mr. Voralberg like that. Naturally, as her butler and nurse, it is my duty to take care of her and that’s what I did.  
\- So you didn’t inspect the corpse?  
\- I couldn’t do much for him then, so no.

Kate did recall that she saw James trying to wake an unconscious Madame Romanski, so he wasn’t lying about that, but he was still hesitant in his earlier replies and that still aroused a suspicion in her. In the end she ran out of questions to ask him, so they let him join Professor Pons and asked him as well to not talk with any of the other suspects until they finish up the questioning. James got up from his seat and was about to leave when he turned back around to the couple.

\- It’s safe to assume that you will be questioning Madame next, right?  
\- Yes … do you have anything against it, James?  
\- No, I just wanted to ask you to please be considerate with Madame … she went through quite the shock already … I don’t want to excite her any further … she wasn’t feeling well earlier either and … I do worry for her …

Only when talking about his mistress did he show genuine compassion and that seemed to soften Kate’s image of him, even for the slightest of seconds.

\- We’ll go easy on her. You don’t need to worry, James.


	7. Questioning the Diva

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is quite short and the next one won't be too long either.

Despite being told not to interact with anyone after the questioning James immediately went over to his mistress, but the exchange was brief enough, so Kate didn’t intervene. She presumed he only told her that Oscar and herself were going to question her next about the tragic incident. With a heavy sigh the former diva slowly got up from her seat, the shock still visible on her features, as she was terrified of everything that was going on around her, even being a slight bit wary of her own butler. Because of this James did not wish to leave her and gently escorted her over to the couple, and when it was time for him to leave her side he kissed her hands as a farewell, a quite touching moment, even if their parting was merely temporary, and only a few booths would be separating them from each other. Kate Walker waited until Helena Romanski had taken her seat across from them, and only started questioning her after James had finally left, but the diva was not paying the two any attention and still kept looking over at her butler, who sat down across from the Professor. Kate decided to clear her throat a bit in order to get her attention, which seemed to work, as a wide eyed ghost of the former diva looked back at her.

\- Madame Romanski, can we ask you a few questions?  
\- I … yes … I think …

It was clear that her mind was elsewhere as it still tried to comprehend what was going on around her, after all her former sweet heart was just murdered, and being the first one to come across the body in such a gruesome state would leave anyone mortified. Kate gave her a few minutes to gather herself before they started.

\- Madame Romanski, do you remember when you last saw Hans?  
\- L-last night …  
\- Where?  
\- H-here … in the d-dining car … I … I think …  
\- Did you talk to him?  
\- N … n-no ...  
\- What did you do last night?  
\- I … I w-wasn’t feeling well … so I retired … t-to my room …

So far her story aligned with how James had told the two earlier, still Kate couldn’t help, but feel that something was amiss as the diva would not remove her gaze from her butler all the while while answering her questions, thus she decided on something else to inquire about.

\- Madame Romanski, was James with you when you retired for the night?  
\- Yes, h-he was ...  
\- The whole time?  
\- Y-yes … … … I mean n-no … of course not … h-he went t-to his own … room … I think … I-I don’t know … What did he tell you?

That last question seemed to catch both of the couple off guard as both of them gave Madame Romanski a questioning look, and Oscar was the first one to decide to answer her.

\- He said he left, but after the train had started to slow down he woke you. Was that not how it happened, Madame Romanski?  
\- No … I-I mean y-yes …

The former diva buried her face in her hands and started to breathe heavily as she kept apologizing.

\- Madame … is everything alright?

She did not reply, and only kept apologizing, as to for what, neither of them knew. In the end they decided to leave the former diva alone and not to question her any further, and called over to James to help her away from the booth. They both watched her with a somber expression as she was escorted away, and when the butler and his mistress were far away enough Kate turned to Oscar.

\- What do you think is going on?  
\- I have not, but even the slightest idea, Kate Walker.


	8. Questioning the American

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is extra short, because writing Dan makes me phisically ill... I always make him like Christian Grey, which just makes him even worse than he is.

Still wearing quite the bitter expressions from the previous questioning Kate turned to Oscar again.

\- Who’s next?  
\- It’s … … … Kate Walker, may I leave?

Kate was shocked to say the least at the sudden request and immediately asked the engineer, as to for what, and why would he want to leave the investigation now. Warily he motioned over to Dan Foster, who was next on the list of suspects to be questioned, and Kate Walker immediately understood.

\- Oh …  
\- So … may I?  
\- Are you scared of him?

After a few minutes of silence he replied with a “No.”, but it was obvious that it was a lie.

\- You know you don’t have to be. You didn’t do anything to wrong him.

As reassurance she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

\- I know that …

Oscar looked over at Dan’s direction and saw that the American has been glaring daggers at the two of them.

\- … But I don’t think he does.

With that Oscar pulled away from Kate, but she kept reassuring him that it would be fine and before he could get the chance to object, and better yet escape, she called over to the American, and as she did that all the blood froze in the engineer’s body. He kept looking back and forth between Kate and Dan, expecting the worst, but nothing seemed to happen, as Mr. Foster remained seated in his booth only to continue his viscous glares and nothing more. Kate Walker tried calling him over once more, but again to no avail, and she didn’t try a third time to see if it would really be the charm, and instead got up from her seat and walked over to him instead, which again made Oscar’s blood turn cold in his veins. As soon as she got over to his booth she didn’t even ask for permission and sat down across from him.

\- Dan, are you deaf?

No reply came from the man, only a cold stare.

\- You’re acting like a child you know that! Someone has been murdered, yet you have nothing better to do than act like a complete idiot! You already tarnished evidence and now you even refuse to be questioned! … It’s really not helping your situation, Dan. 

Still no reply, but now she achieved as much as that he stopped with the glares, and even refused to look her in the eye, but when the engineer appeared by her side again he returned to doing what he did earlier, but now with a snarl sitting on his features, and through gritted teeth he muttered something at Oscar’s direction that wasn’t quite comprehensible, but could only be taken as a threat. Oscar jumped back, and her former fiancé’s animalistic behavior seemed to surprise Kate as well for a minute, but right after the sudden shock she gathered herself quickly, and got up from the booth.

\- I think we’re done here.

Oscar wanted to object, but quickly changed his mind after he took another look at Mr. Foster and followed after Kate Walker who didn’t even bother to look back at Dan.


	9. Questioning the Captain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, finally done with all the questioning chapters.  
> There are about 5 or 6 more chapters left, before we reach the end, I just gotta go and work on them... The next chapter might not be up on Friday though, sadly something has happened that kinda threw me off, so I might not be able to work on it. I do promise I'll try to do my best though.

Kate Walker made her way over to the other booth with Oscar following close behind to question the last remaining suspect, Captain Malatesta, who was more than eager. As soon as the couple sat down across from him, the Captain jumped right up, saluted, and stated his name, rank and profession. The action of course caught both of them by surprise, and while Kate could only just stare and smile awkwardly at the man, Oscar weakly saluted back at him. At least the Captain’s antics made them forget about the one-sided sour conversation that happened only moments before and could continue on in a slightly better mood. Kate politely asked the Captain to sit back down, so they can finally question him as well, and he obliged.

\- So, Captain, when was the last time you saw Hans?  
\- Last night. Hans and Cornelius were doing a bit of catching up and I happened to join in on the conversation as well. Sadly when they started talking about mammoths, and Syberia, and whatnot, I could not keep up with them any longer … and it gave me quite a headache, thus I have decided to take my leave.  
\- Around what time was that?  
\- A little before midnight if I recall.

Kate nodded her head and let the Captain continue.

\- When I was making my way to my room I happened to come across Mr. Foster.  
\- Dan? What was he doing?  
\- I would rather not quote the man, but he seemed awfully angry … and from the smell of it had more drinks than a Doctor would usually recommend … while banging on someone’s door. I assume …  
\- Yes, he was yelling at me.  
\- Oh! I am more than glad I dragged him away from the scene then.  
\- … Excuse me?  
\- I dragged him away from your door, Miss, and gave him a lecture. He didn’t seem too pleased with me interfering and tried to attack me as well.  
\- Did you fight back?  
\- He gave me no other choice, but do not worry, Miss, I had only hit him once … and it was only lightly … and on the head … so no major damage was done. After that I dragged him into one of the empty rooms and laid him down on the bed. I hoped he would sleep off that foul mood of his, but I fear that was just wishful thinking.  
\- Still … thank you, Captain.  
\- Oh, don’t mention it, Miss.

Being complimented like that by a beautiful young woman brought a bit of color to the Captain’s cheeks. At that Oscar decided to join in on the questioning as well.

\- And what happened after, Captain?  
\- I went to my room and fell asleep … or the very least I tried to do so … I got an awful migraine from the earlier conversation … and the awful snoring coming from the other room as well didn’t help either. For such an expensive wonder the walls in it are rather thin.

One particular comment in the Captain’s reply made Oscar raise an eyebrow and as he started to count the passengers and the rooms on his hands, Kate took over the questioning again.

\- Does that mean you left your room again?  
\- No, I took some sleeping pills and I knocked myself out for the night. I only left my room again when I heard Madame Romanski’s scream. I was woken so suddenly I didn’t even had time to get dressed ...

Oscar was about to tell Kate Walker about his revelation when the Captain jumped up from his seat again and started removing his bath robes to reveal that he indeed wasn’t lying and was still wearing his pajamas. The sudden action again caught the two by surprise, and again Kate could only awkwardly smile, while Oscar completely lost his train of thought. The Captain sat back down and the couple thanked him for his cooperation and asked him to join the other suspects while they’ll discuss their progress, or the lack of it thereof, and the Captain looked at her confused.

\- And what about the other two gentleman?  
\- The other two … who?  
\- Yes, the ones who joined us at Romansbourg.


End file.
